Saturday, March 16, 2013

Head, meet wall.

I am still seeing constant nose-turned-up claims that the USMNT has been operating in a 4-3-3, such as in the Honduras loss. Someone, someone, SOMEONE, please explain to me this rampant, widespread, spectacular confusion. On exactly what planet is this formation played with only one person along the entire right flank?

The 4-3-3 is not just a formation, it is a system. And we ain't playin' it. Forget Ajax... have we even been operating in the manner of AZ?

First of all, I do not buy into all this "formations don't matter" stuff. A formation is meant to be tactical; if your formation isn't even supposed to matter, then your tactics are quite hollow.

As for "my" 4-3-3 mentality, I defy you to find one USMNT observer that does not want each the following aspects of play stepped up greatly: playing out of the back, attack from the wingbacks, one-touch passing, possession game, off-the-ball movement, combo play, wide play and more chances created.

yeah, people clamor for play out of the back until we give up cheap goals on stupid giveaways. im not sure why the 4-3-3 is needed to achieve each of your requirements though.

i think when people start conjuring up ideas about what they think is the right or wrong formation or what are the right tactics, then we are missing the larger points of the game, which might involve understanding what it takes to actually win each and every game

you can get up on your high horse and try to eschew the virtues of the dutch 4-3-3, as if it is going to happen through osmosis, but that is really just hyperbolic BS.

"i think when people start conjuring up ideas about what they think is the right or wrong formation or what are the right tactics, then we are missing the larger points of the game, which might involve understanding what it takes to actually win each and every game"

Greg, what is even worse is that JK's inability to articulate a tactical vision clearly has something to do with his persistent habit of playing guys out of position. You're a Dmid? Play center back. You're a forward? Play on the wing. It's absolute contempt for the players and the concept of tactics at all.

Bradley had his weaknesses, but he was greatly under rated by many fans. Simply comparing the clarity the team had under him with the confusion we see now should make many people repent.

Would I like Klinsmann to go away? At this point, yes I would. (I would revive my one man campaign "David Moyes for USA"). But what I would settle for is forcing him to take a tactical assistant head coach who would take over where Klinsi is clearly lacking.

lamont, ya big dummy, aint nobody said you call for coach bradley to be fired, but son, if you are not calling for coach klinsmann to be fired, then you sure are trying to undermine his bon vivant, and you aint the only mother flucker.

See, I'm still waiting for you to figure out that Fred G. Sanford was a buffoon and an old fish-eyed fool. That was the entire point of the show. And with that, please leave this routine out forever more. Seriously.

Bradley has a successful track record of playing in a slightly wider position with Roma, Gomez and Dempsey have a successful track record attacking from a wider position. Most importantly, Edu/Williams/Beckerman have a successful track record at their respective clubs, as well as for the USA, of being a disciplined, defensive-minded man in the middle.

So remove Jones from the equation and you have your front six. Except Klinsmann has not yet shown a willingness to remove Jones from the 11. And herein lies the problem. We don't want Bradley tasked primarily with defending because he has too much value for us going forward (both actually and metaphorically). And we don't want Jones tasked primarily with defending... BECAUSE HE'S NOT THAT GOOD AT DEFENDING!!! Jones is also not that good at being disciplined and staying to one side of the field the way Bradley does for Roma (or the way Reyna did for the USA in 2002 when we slid him out wide in the knockout rounds). So if Jones can't be on the flanks of three man midfield, and he can't be the defensive center of a three man midfield... I guess we can't play a three man midfield. I guess with Jones on the field we will be forced to play a perpetual 4-5-1 that is not so much unbalanced as it is getting in its own friggin way.

SS, i think id reference the guatemala game, the second one, in KC. the first goal USA scored was from a corner, but the second and third were from the run of play and id label both those goals as typical from a 4-3-3, down the wing, into the middle, overlapping runs, with multiple players in the box. classic 4-3-3, second and third goals from the 2nd guatemala game.

thats two out of three, maybe some other fan can help out on the third play.

we did play a couple of qualifiers in pretty less then ideal conditions.

There's real snow, and then there is Okie snow. People that know real snow recognize how it looks and feels and can hear in their minds the soft crunch that comes with every step. Okie snow is thin and quick to melt, and every winter it covers up the iced streets of the Sooner state and its neighbors, even if only for a time. Somebody who has never experienced real snow might mistake the Okie variety for the genuine article, but at best it's a pale imitation.

Maybe Klinsi has a system and formation that the team is playing, but to discerning viewers, it certainly doesn't look like it. At best, it comes across as something resembling a system, something best described as a "4 - Bradley surrounded by an unorganized mess - nothing."

The plan seems to be to throw players out there (some assigned positions by drawing out of a hat) and hope they come up with it on their own. If it's significantly more than that, then I've been hard-pressed to see it consistently

joos, i can appreciate your attempt at this snow analogy. but the truth is there is real snow, and there is fake snow. go to any ski resort in this country and you will see machines that make fake snow. and the truth is, a lot of these ski resorts rely on the fake stuff to stay in business.

if you want the best real snow on the planet, the barcelona of snow is in little cottonwood canyon, utah.

the stuff you are talking about in oklahoma, thats black ice, and that stuff should not even be messed with. very dangerous. like mr black magic himself.

I ask this, because perhaps you're not aware of it, but you make everyone you argue with look like Socrates.

There's a reason nobody likes the JK formation. There isn't one strength in his entire system. Not flank play. Not midfield control. Not defense. Certainly not offense. That's the difference between it and a 4-3-3- that formation has definite advantages.

if people are really honest and you want to get an apples to apples, or at least as close as possible. compare the US team under coach bradley to the US team under coach klinsmann, but do it using the games where donovan did not play.

the honest answer is that team USA has looked better under this regime than it did under the last, when donovan is missing from the lineup. if somebody wants to dispute that fact, please try and show some evidence, and something more than tweets, please.

Greg said: "Fact #1: At no time did I ever publicly call for Bradley's job.

Fact #2: I have also never called for Klinsi's."

I did, for both.

I still think that BB should have been replaced. Despite some tactical achievements like his crown achievement in beating Spain, we reached ceiling and struggled against weaker opponents and solid European teams. He had his hangups in calling players: too late in calling in somebody hot and keeping somebody in who lost the form.

Klinsi was the only one readily available with expectations to bring in that elusive spark that made us clamoring for Freddy and Torres. It did not work out with any of them, but it's not to say that we are wrong wanting something more.

There are different types of coaches. Take Bora Milutinović. He took whatever was available and made the best with it. 5 teams taken to the world cup!

I wanted something different. Like what Guus Hiddink did with South Korea. Or how his Russian team out-Dutch the Dutch, with a well executed style.

As it stands now, I have no idea how Klinsi wants our team to play. Some ideas seen at the beginning like playing defense very high and compacting the midfield, are not there anymore. His hangups with player selection if different from BB's are no way better. Creativity is not realized. Using available players in the best possible way - nope. His own crown achievements of beating Italy and Mexico look more accidental than logical. I am not arguing his style. I don't understand if he has style!

Honestly, I am hoping for Klinsi to prove me wrong and make a fool out of me.

they irony of this whole "discussion", its that every soccer fan has his favorites. favorite team, favorite formation, players, etc.

even coaches are fans, and coaches have their favorites also. could be keith beyers, or it could be jon bornstein, or goosh, it could even be robbie rodgers.

i for one think our national team coach deserves more time, which could very well be down to weeks. but he also deserves more credit.

this is a coach that took arguably a weaker team just as far, albeit at home, as the mad genius who followed him.

this is not maradona, who flunked out of saudi arabia, or whatever persian gulf league he was in.

this is the coach from b munchen, with prying eyes in every corner of the room, and the man still had his team in a position to win before he was removed from the post. and no, zero points from three games is not being in a position to win.

the mad genius is low, that followed klinsmann at germany. they both took germany to the semis, but low arguably with a better team, but he was on a neutral site and klinsmann had italy at home. both teams advanced to the semis. germany thrashed portugal in the third place game, in 06, and in 10 germany snuck by uruguay, who snuck by costa rica to even get in.

Who is NSC?

NSC is run by Greg Seltzer (MLSsoccer.com), who has reported on soccer across the globe since 2001, covering MLS, MLS Cup, U.S. Men, Women & Youth national teams, World Cup, Gold Cup, U-20 World Cup, the UEFA European Championship, UEFA Champions League and Europa League, UEFA Cup, CONCACAF and UEFA qualifiers, Premiership, Bundesliga, Eredivisie, various second-tier leagues, domestic cups and international friendlies.